Vinnie Delarosa and Ethan Thorne are partners—on and off the clock. Federal undercover detectives, they’re part of a covert task force designed to promote goodwill between the feds and local authorities. They lend an unobtrusive helping hand wherever it’s needed. No credit required.

Vinnie and Ethan work primarily in the Southeast region of the United States and live together in Richmond, Virginia. A mugger problem brings them to Roanoke, where Vinnie is thrown out as bait to catch the man who’s been snatching purses in a city park, but they end up with more than they bargained for. Why is Vinnie always the one who has to wear the dress? Ethan says it’s because Vinnie looks much prettier in a skirt. How can he argue with that?

Expecting to return to Richmond afterward, Vinnie and Ethan find themselves assigned a new case instead. They are to go undercover at The Stroll, one of the biggest gay nightclubs in Roanoke. Someone is terrorizing both the customers and the performers. Could they be dealing with a hate crime? Someone has to protect the drag queens of Roanoke, so it’s Vinnie and Ethan to the rescue!

The author is donating 10% of the royalties from this book to No Kid Hungry. Visit nokidhungry.org for more information about this organization.

Pages or Words: 50,000 words

Categories: Crime Fiction, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Humor, Romance

Excerpt:

“Remind me again whose stupid idea this lipstick was,” I huffed under my breath. Without thinking, I licked my lips. They felt greasy, and tasted even worse. I forced myself not to grimace, afraid it might crack the foundation I’d slathered on my face.

“Fuck you,” I growled. “You should be doing this, not me, and you know it. I did it last time.”

And the time before that. And the time before that. Wait, did I detect a pattern here?

“What I know is you look better in a skirt than I do. And you look damn good out of it too.”

My cheeks filled with heat at Ethan’s words. Luckily the darkness hid a multitude of sins, my embarrassment being the least of them. Hopefully, no one else was listening—I knew I’d never hear the end of it. Just what I needed—to be the object of ridicule of the Roanoke PD.

Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Julie Lynn Hayes, author of Bad Dogs and Drag Queens. Hi Julie, thank you for agreeing to this interview.

Is there a character in your books that you can’t stand? (Antagonist for example) And what makes them someone you don’t like?

Sometimes there are characters that I can’t stand for one reason or another. In the second Rose and Thorne, it’s a particular actress who shall go nameless (Vinnie just hates to hear her name!) In my novel Dark Love, it was the ex-priest, Paul, who was a horrible human being. Didn’t like his wife much either lol

Can’t like everyone, not even in your own books lol

Are there misconceptions people have about your genre?

I think there must be, or we’d be able to sell our books in mainstream stores, but that isn’t happening. I think some people who’ve never tried m/m books are under the impression that they’re sinful and depraved or something, and fail to grasp that these are romances, like any others. The booksellers only exacerbate this falsehood by either not shelving them at all, or sticking them into a shockingly small GLBT section, and then horribly mislabeling that section as Cultural Studies. Granted, there are bad writers in the genre, but that’s true of any genre, and you can’t judge all books by a few rotten eggs.

Is there message in your novel that you hope readers grasp?

I think if there is a message it’s about loving one another and not judging people by whom they love.

How has your writing evolved since your first book? (If this is your first book, how do you hope it evolves?)

I like to think I’m not as wordy as I was lol I’ve learned a lot about writing, and editing as well, and have applied it to my books. I continue to learn, and hope to keep writing for many years to come!

One food you don’t care if you never eat it again.

There are a few of those, but let’s go with liver and onions. I had it once, as a child. I can still remember the smell that permeated the house. The taste of it, and the aftertaste, even after all these years.

Not in this lifetime or any other.

Thanks for having me here today!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***Ethan and Vinnie have been partners both at work and in their personal lives for five years. They work as undercover agents in a special task force that helps police stations around the country and perhaps because of his long hair, Vinnie always ends up drawing the short stick when it comes to dressing as a woman or in this case, as a drag queen. Add an adorable dog with a penchant for stealing purses and you'll have a very cute, enjoyable read.Ethan is amazing, steady and loving, he is just the perfect counterpart to the volatile Vinnie. And Vinnie, well, he's exuberant and full of life. Together they're hilarious and have an amazing chemistry, both at work and in their private life. If something could've made this book better, it would've been having a bit more of backstory. We get the general idea of how Vinnie and Ethan got together, but I'd have loved to read some of it, too. I think the ending was a bit rushed, too, and there were some loose ends, that I hope the author will resolve in other books in the series. As it was, it was a delightful, fun book. I really enjoyed this trip into Vinnie's mind, it was hilarious! And of course, Benny, the puppy, was too adorable for words. Very recommendable!Rating: 4 Stars!!!

Meet the author:

Julie Lynn Hayes first began publishing short stories and poetry in the 1990’s, when it was a different ballgame altogether, and Ebooks hadn’t been dreamed of yet. That changed in 2010 with the acceptance of her first romance novel. She’s come a long way since that first book appeared, and is finding the journey a very educational one.

She lives in St. Louis with her daughter Sarah and her cat Ramesses. She often writes of two men finding true love and happiness in one another’s arms, and is a great believer in the happily ever after. She likes to write in different genres, to stretch herself in order to see what is possible. Her great challenge is to be told something can’t be done—she feels compelled to do it.

When she isn’t writing, she enjoys crafts, such as crocheting and cross stitch, needlepoint and knitting, and she loves to cook, spending time watching the Food Network. Her favorite chef is Geoffrey Zakarian. Her family thinks she’s a bit off, but she doesn’t mind. Marching to the beat of one’s own drummer is a good thing, after all. Her published works can be found at Dreamspinner Press, eXtasy Books, and Wayward Ink Press.